AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2022 THE RIDER /27 ^Between The Ears^


and horses have this in com- mon with humans. Stereo- typic behavior outside of work was found to be from their job. Horses have this in common with humans. Now let’s think about the horse and the various jobs asked of them. The horses in the study


group all lived in the same living conditions, were the same breed and sex. Horses, much like humans were re- quired to suppress emo- tional


responses and


By Ellie Ross. For the longest time, I


was ‘that person’ that people called to come and get horses that were not wanted. I also kept a close watch over the ‘meat horse’ sale at OLEX and I often found myself negotiating buying horses off of the Kill Buy- ers. Over the years I can’t even begin to count the number of horses I received or acquired that were being discarded due to behaviour issues. Some of them were very well bred horses hav- ing previously sold for over $100,000. They had the pedigree,


the looks, the movement and all the prospective talent one could ask for. Others had a history of a successful show career but along the way they turned into unwill- ing participants and even la- belled as dangerous. Loads of money had been spent on many of them in an effort to try to find some physical ail- ment that must be the cause


of their undesirable behav- iour. Often that was incon- clusive.


The most


overlooked and frequently denied health factor was their mental health. Their job and for some, the asso- ciated lifestyle led to the de- mise of their mental well being. This was the topic of study and the results may or may not surprise you. To put things into perspective, think about certain human jobs and the impact those jobs can have on people. Jobs such as factory line work where its repetitive and lacking mental stimula- tion. Or a high stress job where the demands are great and lead to chronic stress. Or how about job where many of your interactions are consistently faced with people that do no want to cooperate. There have been numerous human studies to prove that jobs can lead to psychological impairment, depression, anxiety etc. Peo- ple’s jobs often affect their behavior outside of work


endured physical constraints during work. Horses were observed to simply tuning out as coping mechanism. We already know that horses stabled for long peri- ods of time are prone to stereotypic behaviours but we are now learning that their job is also a contribut- ing factor. A comparison of 2


year old Thoroughbreds in work vs. those not in work showed that they had higher emotional responses than those not working. Dressage horses that were enduring more physical and mental


Does the Horse’s Job Lead to Behaviour Disorders?


and/or bite. • Head tossing was mostly observed in High School and Dressage horses fol- lowed by Jumpers. Eventers were the least likely to head toss. • Cribbing/windsucking was not observed in Eventers or Jumpers but was observed in Dressage and High School horses • Weaving was not observed in the Jumpers or the Even- ters


The daily work


constraints Jumpers


that Show showed more


stereotypic behaviours. Considerations were


the frame in which Dressage horses are ridden in, collec- tion of gaits,


technical


movements etc vs the jumpers who were often al- lowed to extend their gaits, stretch out their heads and


necks. The horses ridden in the rollkur position showed more tail swishing, mouth gapping and fear reactions. The horses in this re-


search were mainly ; • Dressage • Jumper • Eventers • High School horses. The stereotypic behav-


iours observed were biting, tongue play, cribbing/wind- sucking, head tossing and weaving. The results of the re-


search showed; • The most stereotypic horses were Show Jumpers followed by Dressage Horses. • High School horses were the most likely to have more than one stereotypic behav- ior. • Jumpers were the most likely to engage in tongue play. • Jumpers and Eventers were the most likely to lick


showed to have a lasting ef- fect on the behavior of the horses while stabled. Horses whose jobs had the expecta- tion that they had to restrain from expressing themselves while constrained physically exhibited the more serious behaviours. Jobs whereas the horses took longer strides and moving forward in far less ritualized posture were most likely to repeti- tively bite and/or lick their environment. Speculation has been given to the con- sideration that their


jobs


were more physically de- manding and therefor they could


be


searching for s ome t h i n g missing from their


diet.


There is also the possibility that it occurs as the result of tongue pres- sure from the bits used. H e a d


shaking and head tossing being more


Anne Gage for The Rider - August 2022


ticed that he if he wasn’t standing quietly and staring into space un- blinking, he was busy with his mouth or pawing. Turned loose in the arena, he didn’t go off and inves- tigate anything, try to roll or go fo a run. He just stood in the same spot where he was released. I explained to my client that all animals (including humans) have 5


behaviour had happened a couple of times. The gelding had been stand- ing very quietly in the cross-ties when he suddenly - without warning - spooked, jumped back and broke the ties. His owner found that behav- iour very unsettling and confusing. Observing the gelding, I no-


the unwanted behaviours in a way that is most common in the horse world. Yanking the rope out of the horse’s mouth. In a loud voice, telling him “no! Stop it!” Thank- fully, she wasn’t hitting him - an- other far too common human response. Another odd and concerning


chestnut, Quarter Horse gelding is lovely when being ridden. But, she was frustrated with his behaviour on the ground. One of the most chal- lenging behaviours was his mouthi- ness. He wasn’t nipping or biting, but he constantly grabbed things - like lead ropes and reins - in his mouth and didn’t let go. The horse’s owner had treated


My client’s lovely 5 year old,


Confident Horsemanship: Why Does Your Horse Do That? What’s Really Behind Unwanted Behaviours. sponses and your relationship for the better.


ing the flight and fight responses in horses - trying to run away (i.e. spooking) or behaving “aggessively” (i.e. striking, kicking, etc.). Fainting, where the horse simply shuts down, sinking or falling to the ground, is less common. Cold-backed horses may do this in response to pain. Horses worked in very tight side or draw reins might also faint as well. My client’s gelding was show-


increases the pressure which creates even more stress or fear in the horse. That can result in explosive behav-


completely still, holds his breath, and usually isn’t blinking. This re- sponse is often labeled as being stub- born because the horse won’t move. The handler or rider typically


ing the fidget and freeze responses. When a horse freezes, it stands


fear responses - the 5 Fs - flight, fight, fidget, freeze, and faint. You’re likely familiar with see-


eting they exhibit behaviours like chewing the bit constantly, grabbing ropes and reins, flapping lips, being pushy or otherwise fidgeting or “fooling around”. It’s often thought that the horse is doing this to get at- tention, because he’s bored, or that he’s a “character” or a “clown”. Peo- ple sometimes find these behaviours amusing, but they can also be an- noyed by them. However, fidgeting is really a mechanism for coping with stress. It’s the same as people


when the person recognises what the behaviour really means? The horse is frozen because he is overwhelmed with stress or fear. A more appropri- ate response would be to help the horse to feel safe, de-stress the situ- ation and remove any pressure. Similarly, when a horse is fidg-


iour as the horse switches to the flight or flight response. How is the response different


biting their finger nails or jiggling their leg when stressed. After explaining what is really causing


these unwanted behaviours in her gelding, her attitude and response to them shifted. She was immediately more understanding and empa- thetic towards him. We discussed ways to help her horse feel calm, how to set him up for success by reducing the things she was in- advertently doing that fed into those behav- iours, and looking for opportunities to reward him when he was showing behaviours that she does want. My client’s perspective about her horse’s


behaviour changed from annoyance to empa- thy. And that resulted in her changing her re- sponse to him, looking for ways to help him instead of punishing him, and setting him up for success. When you change your perception about your horse’s behaviour, you change your re-


prevalent in Dressage horses could be the result of dam- age to the trigeminal nerve due to constant bit pressure. Dressage horses also en- dured more interpersonal conflict with their riders than the other disciplines in this research. The hypothe- sis that Dressage horses are more reactive than others was based on the rapid tran- sitions, constant bit pressure and other additional adverse stimulations (whip, spurs). Back in my days of re-


ceiving so many unwanted horses I was often asked what did I do to turn them around. What special train- ing did I do to get them rid- ing safe and/or happily again. Truth be told, I gave them the chance to be a horse and when I put them back to work we spent at least half of our time under saddle just resting and we hacked out almost every time following their work.


Anne Gage Confident Horsemanship


Ride More, Worry Less And Enjoy Every Ride! Let’s get you feeling more confident today!


519-940-6050 • anne@confidenthorsemanship.com www.confidenthorsemanship.com


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